Intrawest announces $1 billion Tremblant expansion

Intrawest President and C.E.O. Joe Houssain unveiled plans on Tuesday

Intrawest President and C.E.O. Joe Houssain unveiled plans on Tuesday for a $1 billion expansion of Quebecs Mount Tremblant Resort over the next 10 years.

The Canadian and Quebec Governments are together contributing $95 million toward the expansion, billed as the largest tourism project in North America.

"We are very pleased that the federal and provincial governments recognize Tremblants great potential and that they have chosen to participate in the development of this unique Canadian tourist destination. We are witnessing today an example worth following of a partnership between the public and private sectors," said Houssian in a written statement.

Tremblants skiable terrain will expand from 600 to 1,000 acres, and the resorts capacity will increase from 12,000 to 20,000 skiers per day.

The project will continue Tremblants trend of rapid growth. According to Intrawest, in 1991 the resort saw 400,000 visitors, of which 5 per cent came from outside Canada. Today, the annual number of visitors stands at 2.3 million, with 40 per cent from outside Canada. Once the expansion is completed, Tremblant is projected to be able to receive more than 4.5 million visitors each year, about half of whom will be international visitors.

The expansion consists mainly of two additional villages. The first village, Versant Soleil, will be designed to attract corporate business. Construction is already underway on Versant Soleils pedestrian village, six hotels and 95,000 square foot convention centre.

Construction on the second, family oriented village, Versant Nord, will begin in 2007 and will include approximately 1,000 condo-hotel units and 500 residential units.

"The realization of our villages is part of an overall plan in which each one is different yet complementary," said Michel Aubin, president of Mont Tremblant Resort. "Our objective is to continue to offer one of the greatest ski experiences in North America."